ESCORTED TOUR

12 Nights | 5 Rounds | 27 August – 8 September

Italy stands alone in our portfolio for the greatest range of course styles and the most fascinating collection of cultural marvels. This 12 night / 5 round fully Escorted Tour from 27 August – 7 September includes mountain, parkland and links style layouts found in three of Italy’s most famous destinations: Lake Como, Florence and Rome.

Our four nights in Lake Como include speechless panoramas plus a guided tour of Bellagio along with two of the lake’s most beautiful villas – Villa Balbianello and Villa Carlotta. On our way to Florence we’ll tour Milan, home to Leonardo’s Last Supper which he completed after five years in 1497. Four nights in the capital of Tuscany and the birthplace of the Renaissance will never be forgotten for treasures like the Cathedral and Michelangelo’s “David” and Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus”. The schedule for the surrounding area is impressive too with visits to Siena, Pisa and San Gimignano. Finally, from the heart of Rome for four nights at the 5-star Hotel Bernini Bristol, you’ll find one of the most profound records of human history in all its artistic and architectural glory at St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon. We will also take a day to tour the Amalfi Coast including Positano and Amalfi along with the remarkably well preserved ruins of Pompeii.

Our golf includes more iconic names, Arnold Palmer’s Le Pavoniere Golf Club found on the former estate of Leopoldo de Medici and Marco Simone in Rome seat of the Ryder Cup in 2022.Ugolino Golf Club in Florence is perhaps our favorite. Like everything in Italy, it’s historic as the country’s first course and for hosting the 40th Italian Open won by Bernard Langer in a play-off with Severiano Ballesteros and Sandy Lyle. Mostly however it is beautiful for the way it follows the natural contours of the Chianti slopes through indigenous olive trees, maritime pines and broom with castles, farmhouses and vineyards visible in all directions.

This fully Escorted PerryGolf tour is inclusive of meals as listed, five rounds of golf with cart, all privately guided sightseeing, a cooking class, wine tasting, airport transfers and train fares. See Tour Inclusions for details.

Arrive Milan where you will be met at the airport by PerryGolf staff who will assist you to your private transfer awaiting to take you to Lake Como.Check-in to Albergo Terminus, a 4-star superior property located in downtown Como, facing the lake.

The rest of the day is free to relax and enjoy Como. The Welcome Dinner will be reserved in a local restaurant within walking distance of the hotel.

GOLF: Today play Villa d’Este Golf Club, located 5 miles from the hotel. The course winds its way through chestnut groves, birch and pine woods. It is considered one of the most varied and challenging par 69 courses in the country. A superb clubhouse with views over the course and the lake of Montorfano adds the final touch to this tranquil and elegant site.

SIGHTSEEING: Non-Golfers will visit Lugano, the "Monte Carlo of Switzerland". The 45 minute trip itself is a treat, much of it traveling along the shore of picturesque Lake Lugano. Your guide will show you this vivacious, lakeside city with its chic boutiques, bars and pavement cafes tucked in the spaghetti maze of cobblestone streets.

The two groups will reconnect in the afternoon with time to relax and refresh before joining a local guide around 6:00 PM in the hotel lobby for a guided tour of the town. We’ll visit Como’s most important churches; the Duomo built from 1396 to 1740 and the Basilica di San Fedele admired for its upper arcade and round windows decorated with Romanesque bas-reliefs. After the medieval Tower which was built in 1192 after a war fought against Milan we’ll explore the Piazza Cavour.

All guests enjoy a full day exploring the lake with a local guide beginning with a private motorboat whose first stop is Bellagio, the pearl of the lake. The village is characterised by century-old buildings, stone lanes and picturesque cobbled stairways filled with shops showcasing the finest Italian wares.Visits also include a pair of the lake’s most beautiful and famous villas – Villa Balbianello and Villa Carlotta. Lunch will be served on the terrace of the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni.

GOLF: Today play Monticello. This is one of the great classic courses in Italy, made famous by the Italian Open championships held here and by the very meticulous maintenance and green-keeping on both 18 hole courses. The Rosso (Red) Course is a straight forward layout with the Alps as a backdrop and fairways lined by clusters of trees. Its challenges are clearly in view and judiciously spread in order to avoid overwhelming the average player. No. 7 is a memorable par 3 measuring almost 200 yards and protected on all sides by water.

SIGHTSEEING: Non-Golfers will be invited to join an excursion to Lake Maggiore where you will visit Stresa and by private motorboat the three islands as well. Lunch on your own before returning to the hotel early in the afternoon.

COOKING CLASS: Tonight everyone will experience a cooking class to learn how to prepare several signature recipes of the Italian tradition like the sauces (pesto, Bolognese, amatriciana) or how to make gnocchi and tagliatelle or the pizza to end with a marvellous tiramisu. Just to be sure you have made the correct job, you will taste your “work” for dinner accompanied by some good wine.

Mid-morning check-out and private transfer to Milan, famous for fashion and fascinating architecture such Castello Sforzesco, Teatro la Scala and the Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral) which took nearly six centuries to build and is the 5th largest church in the world. You will be welcomed by a local guide who will begin your tour with the extraordinary fresco by Leonardo da Vinci, the Last Supper, which he worked on from 1494 to 1497. Your visit will include time for shopping one of the most famous fashion centres in the world along Via Monte Napoleone. Lunch today is on your own.

At 4:30 PM, we’ll gather at the Cathedral for our transfer to the railway station where we’ll board the 5:15pm train to Florence. Upon arrival at 6:55PM, our transfer will take us to the 5-star Relais Santa Croce – located in the historic centre of Florence in an 18th century palazzo.

At 8:00 PM, Guests will be seated in the Relais’ main for a set dinner.

GOLF: Today play Firenze Ugolino Golf Club, the oldest course in Italy. The layout follows the natural contours of the Chianti slopes through indigenous olive trees, maritime pines and broom. Lift your eyes and see incomparable Tuscan beauty with castles, farmhouses and vineyards in all directions. The course isn’t long but the greens are small and well defended by bunkers. Ugolino hosted the 40th Italian Open widely remembered as one of the most exciting ever played when Bernard Langer won a thrilling play-off with Severiano Ballesteros and Sandy Lyle.

SIGHTSEEING: Non-Golfers will enjoy a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery.

The two groups will reconnect this afternoon to meet a local guide in the lobby for a tour of the town through narrow streets which take you to the wonderful cathedral, the Battistero and the bell tower.

Today is full with much to enjoy. After breakfast, we leave for Siena and a guided tour of this town famous for architectural beauty beginning with its Piazza del Campo, one of the most marvellous medieval squares in Italy plus the Palio, the medieval horse race.Next we will visit San Gimignano, a medieval village famous for its towers that form an unforgettable skyline and also for his architectural masterpiece in the town centre. A lunch will be served in a local trattoria before entering a short guided tour of the village.

We will leave San Gimignano at 4:00 PM to reach one of the best vineyards in the Chianti area. Here you will taste some of their wines accompanied by snacks before we return to the hotel early in the evening.

This morning is at your leisure for another opportunity to visit fascinating Florence. At midday, our coach will leave the hotel with the Golfers for the 40 minute drive to Le Pavoniere. Sightseers will enjoy a relaxing one hour train ride to Pisa accompanied by a guide.

GOLF: Today play Le Pavoniere Golf Club. This Arnold Palmer layout is found on the former estate of Leopoldo de Medici. The course is nicely secluded with a links feel and a collection of Tuscan-style brick walls and bridges used around the water hazards plus of course the ever-present cypresses of Tuscany.

SIGHTSEEING: Non-Golfers will visit Pisa, the town famous for The Leaning Tower. The 184 foot white marble bell tower for the Romanesque cathedral beside it in the Piazza dei Miracoli was already tilting when it was completed in 1372! After a guided tour of the town, we will join the Golfers for the return to Florence.

Today you will travel to Rome by train (90-minute journey). Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by a private coach and guide whose orientation tour of the town will include the Coliseum and the Imperial Forums which include a series of monumental piazzas built between 46 B.C. (the Forum of Caesar) and 113 A.D. They were the hub of Ancient Rome’s political activities, and were eventually surrounded by majestic structures built over the course of centuries.

Check-in at Hotel Bernini Bristol, a 5-star property near Via Veneto in the heart of Rome within walking distance of the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Spanish Steps – all sites that will be visited with a guide late in the afternoon.

GOLF: Today play Marco SimoneGolf & Country Club, future host of the 2022 Ryder Cup. The course is found 10 miles from the centre of Rome and is built around a castle of the 11th century. Saint Peter’s dome may be seen from several holes.

SIGHTSEEING: Non-Golfers will enjoy a visit to the Borghese Gallery. The museum displays works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Agnolo Bronzino, Antonio Canova, Caravaggio, Raffaello, Lorenzo Lotto, Antonello da Messina, Annibale Carracci, Peter Paul Rubens, Tiziano. It can be considered unique in the world as regards the number and importance of the sculptures by Bernini and paintings by Caravaggio.

Today we visit amazing Pompeii which begins after breakfast with a 70 minute train ride to Naples. Our guide for the day will meet us at the train station where we’ll transfer to a private coach for the 3o minute ride to the excavations.

It’s believed the town which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site today was founded in the 7th or 6th and became a Roman colony in 80 BC. By the time of its destruction, 160 years later, its population was approximately 11,000 people, and the city had a complex water system, an amphitheatre, gymnasium and a port.

The Vesuvius eruption destroyed the city, killing its inhabitants and burying it under tons of ash more than 8o feet deep. The site was lost for about 1,500 years until its initial rediscovery in 1599 and broader rediscovery almost 150 years later by Spanish engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre in 1748. Due to the the lack of air and moisture, the city and its artifacts are remarkably well preserved providing extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city during the Pax Romana.

After the two hour tour, you will have a light lunch before we visit the Amalfi Coast for time in Positano and Amalfi before returning to Naples for our return to Rome on the 6:00 PM train.

This morning we visit the Vatican, or Vatican City, whose 109 acres makes it the smallest sovereign state in the world. It was created by a treaty with the Italian government in 1929 and is home to the world’s largest church, St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Peter’s Square (designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini – the namesake of our hotel), the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums.

Much of our attention will be dedicated to the Sistine Chapel. The original structure was restored between 1477 and 1480 followed by work over the next 61 years to produce the masterpiece we see today. It is famous now as the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected, and for the frescos that decorate the interior. The most renowned are those found on the ceiling and above the altar by Michelangelo.

Lunch is on your own and the afternoon is at your leisure.

This evening our Farewell Dinner will be served in the hotel’s roof top restaurant where panoramic views of Rome are among the best in the city.

As far as I am concerned, PerryGolf is the only way to do these golfing trips. I am one of the non-golfing wives and having your coach for our excursions was perfect. John Finnegan, our driver, was wonderful - helpful, informative, accommodating and a pleasure to be around - truly the best! I would recommend your firm to anyone considering a trip of this nature. I had a fabulous time.

Mrs A. Armistead

AIR TRAVEL SERVICES

PerryGolf offers a full service air department to assist in the planning and coordination of airline travel. We encourage you to consider traveling on our Preferred Airline; British Airways which provides an extensive route network to all of our destination cities.

For further details on our air travel services and competitive rates please call 1 800.344.5257 ext 230 or email air@PerryGolf.com

The Hotel Terminus was born of the complete restructuring of an
early 19th-century palazzo, whose Liberty style and tasteful elegance,
typical of the Lombard aristocracy, has been artfully preserved.
In addition to revitalising the architectural splendour of the historic
edifice, the restoration has radically reconfigured its infrastructure
and service facilities in order to ensure maximum comfort and convenience
for our guests.

The stunning 18th century Palazzo Ciofi Jacometti is home to Relais Santa Croce, exclusive Relais & Châteaux residence in the heart of Florence. The recent restoration work has fully respected the original architectural elements, as precious fabrics, period furniture, frescos and the Wooden Trusses based on a Leonardo Da Vinci project. The result is a unique atmosphere in which tradition and modernity live perfectly side-by-side.

Built in the late 1800's in a palace in the heart of Rome, and recently
renovated, the Hotel Bernini Bristol offers the glamour of a bygone era
along with the most modern appointments and amenities. The Bernini Bristol,
5 star accommodation in Rome, is a splendid building, once a historical
palace, facing the famous Piazza Barberini and near to Trevi fountain,
Villa Borghese and the most important shopping streets. Its ample salons
are enchanting with their period furnishings and tapestries, as are its
rooms marked by a refined atmosphere and comfortable elegance.

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